Buffing wheel



May 12, 1959 A."s. RocK BUFFING WHEEL Filed June 27, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet1 .Mayl2, 1959 i ASROCK 2,885,834

BUFFING wHEEp Filed June 27, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United StatesPatelttV BUFFING WHEEL lbin S. Rock, East Bridgewater, Mass., assignorto F. L.

& J. C. Codman Company, Rockland, Mass., a corporation of MassachusettsApplication June 27, 1957, serial No. 668,441 s Claims. (cl. S14-193)This invention relates to bufng wheels of the kind utilizing a mass offibrous butiing material organized as an annulus supported by a centerwhich is in turn mounted on a revolving shaft. I here illustrate anddescribe a wheel of restricted axial width which could be used alone assuch, but which usually would be termed a section, being assembled withothers to provide a wheel with a relatively wide face. v

One well known type of buflng element, the so-called rufled buff is madefrom an effectively continuous ring comprising a strip of bias fabricwound on itself in the form of a cylinder and comprising a vmultiplicityof plies. Such a ring is folded on itself outwardly about its centerline with concomitant compaction of the material adjacent that line, andusually, although in lesser degree, throughout the width of the ring toprovide two flat annuli side by side having pleatings or ruiflingsproduced incidentally to its transformation in form. This duplex annulusis mounted on a supporting center of one kind or another.

Another type of buff is the so-called finger buff in which the annulusis formed of a great number of radially disposed fingers which, as thename implies, are of relatively great length compared with their axialthickness and circumferential width. Such fingers may be formed fromplied bias fabric. It may be conjectured that this type of wheel wasinspired by a brush having tufts of bristles corresponding to thefingers. Various expedients have been resorted to for anchoring theinner ends of the fingers in a compact grouping but because of theirrelatively aring disposition the outer ends were spaced and the workingface of the wheel rather open.

In accordance with my invention I provide a novel form of buif, simplyand inexpensively produced, which in many of its aspects is theequivalent of a mflled buff, but also having certain advantageousfeatures of the nger type of bulf.

My invention will be well understood by reference to the followingdescription of an illustrative embodiment thereof, shown by way ofexample in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a bung wheel unit or section;

Fig. 2 is a partial edge view of the same on a larger scale;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are diagrammatic perspective views illustratingsuccessive steps in preparing by one suitable method a plied strip fromwhich strip the slabs which are used in forming the buff are produced;

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective on a larger scale illustrating theformation of individual slabs from a plied s strip made as disclosed inFigs. 4 and 5;

Fig. 7 is a plan view with parts broken away, showing the assembly of anumber of slabs; and

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate steps in the treatment of the assembly shown inFig. 7 to form a duplex annulus of buiiing material as shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, the finished l buff as thereshown comprises an annular mass 10 of buthng material such as biasfabric, rigidly supported by a center 12, which may be made of chipboardor other light and cheap material and which is pierced with an `opening14 to receive a mounting shaft. Sideplates 16 of berboard or the likeoverlap the inner circumference of the annulus. This arrangement ofcenter and sideplates is conventional and any means customary in the artmay be used for uniting the elements so far referred to.

The annular mass of buing material herein consists of a pair of annuliwhich, merely for convenience, may be referred to as an obverse annulusand a reverse annulus and I have appended to the reference numeral theletters o and r where a distinction seems useful, but also use thereference numeral alone when the reference is generic. The words are nototherwise significant. In viewing the wheel from the side as in Fig. lthe nearer annulus would be the obverse annulus and the farther annulusin axial alignment therewith, and shown in Fig. 1 at the broken awayportion, would be the reverse annulus.

These annuli are each formed of a small number of slabs 2tl-o and 20-rrespectively, made of bias fabric and set edge to edge and in thefinished wheel corresponding to circular ring sectors which form anentire, although divided, circular ring or annulus. In the example shownin Fig. 1 (and Fig. 6) five slabs 20 form the circuit. The slabs areformed from suitable woven fabric and the edges thereof exposed at thecircumference of the wheel are biased to the weave of the fabric. Onesuitable way of forming them is illustrated in Figs. 3 through 7.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a web of bias strip w of indefinitely greatlength as is suggested in the drawing by its being shown as if beingdispensed from a roll. Such strips are prepared from woven fabric bymeans known in the art. A length of the strip w is drawn forward and rthe two side edges a and b are folded over to the center line c in themanner shown in Fig. 4, providing a strip half as wide as before withdouble edges d and e. Such a strip may be folded again along the linecto bring doubled edges e and d together as shown in Figs. 5 and 6,providing a double or folded edge along the line c and enclosing theoriginal raw edges a and b in the interior within the fold.

The resulting structure as illustrated is four-ply. Generally a greaternumber of plies will be desired. If the original strip w were wideenough the strip of Fig. 5 could be doubled again along a longitudinalline to form eight plies or, as I recommend, two superposed webs w couldbe treated as one in performing the steps illustrated inl Figs. 4 and 5.On account of the difficulty in illustration, I am referring to thisverbally only as the representation in a patent drawing of grouped pliesof very thin material is not practical. Representations of a buff willbe at a reduced scale and even the full thickness of a sheet of fabriccould not conveniently be illustrated by a double line and the use of asingle line would imply a spacing which would not exist in practice.Whatever method of folding the plied material may be utilized, it isydesirable that a multiplicity of exposed double (folded) edges be atthe sides of the strip and the raw edges inside.

The folded strip w-f illustrated in Fig. 5 may be made of indefinitelength and may be sewn through lengthwise by a number of seams 22, Fig.6. From one end of the strip a slab 20 is severed as seen at the left ofFig. 6. The line s is the line of severance which would form anotherslab from the strip w-;f. The slab 20 as will appear has two oppositeedges (the circumferential edges of the ultimate circular ring sector)which have raw edges exposing the threads on the bias `and corre-Spending to the lines of severance, while the other two sides (theultimate radial edges) are folded or double.

The word slab has herein been chosen to convey the idea that the severedsegments are inherently fiat, not very thick yet substantially so, notbeing a mere thin sheet, and are of extended area. They resemble in away a tile or a block of memorandum paper. They are distinguished from alinger which is several times as long as it is wide, and where theimpression is primarily one of extension in length. We are concernedhere with a shingle and not with a lath. The slabs might be said to besquarish, although they are not necessarily, or indeed usually,equilateral parallelograms. The width between the folded edges is atleast a major fraction of the depth between the cut or raw edges andindeed dcsirably greater, although not several times greater. The widthbetween the folded edges is such that a small number will provide thecircuit of the wheel. I recommend at least five, as shown, and not morethan ten. Smaller or greater numbers would constitute an undulyinefficient application of the principles of the invention. In numberswhich we would count by tens rather than by units, we would have fingersrather than slabs which would not lend themselves to the manufacture ofthe wheel in the manner hereinafter described and which would lead toentirely different results.

The developed width of the slabs, that is the width between the foldededges in the flat form shown at the left of Fig. 6, is such that the sumis greater at least than the inner circumference which they will occupyin the wheel, and preferably also than the outer circumference. Thisprovides for upsetting or crumpling of the slabs the circumferentialdirection in a manner analagous to the upsetting of the annuli in theusual ruliled bult as will appear.

An actual wheel from which Figs. 1 and 2 were drawn, was 1l inches inover-all diameter with a three-inch center, and each annulus was madewith five slabs which were about eight inches wide (circumferentialwidth) and about four inches deep (radial width). It will be understoodthat these figures are merely illustrative and provide one specificexample of the construction effected by the use of slabs as abovedescribed.

In the form of the invention illustrated a suitable number of slabs 20,each of a length corresponding substantially to the radial depth of thefabric portion of the wheel, are arranged in two rows as shown in Fig.7, where they have been marked -0 and Ztl-r, because they will formparts of the obverse and reverse annuli respectively. In the exampleshown the folded edges of adjacent slabs each row adjoin each otheralong the vertical lines viewing the figure, and one of the raw edges isexposed at a side of the assembly. In the example shown the slabs arenot staggered in the two rows. The adjacent longitudinal edges of thetwo series of slabs are then loosely articulated to secure them togetherwhile permitting folding them face to face with the outer edgestogether. While a slab of double length might be folded across itsmedian to provide integrally connected portions in each of the annuli itis generally desirable, in wheels wherein the fabric portion is of smallinner circumference to avoid this, and where there is no foldong of thematerial of the slabs themselves, that very little bulk be added alongthe line where they are joined. A single ply 7.4 of suitable strongfabric, which may be narrower than the double depth of the slabs, inother words a tape, may be extended longitudinally along the line ofjunction between the two rows and secured to their edges by the lines ofstitching 26. Even with folded slabs such a tape or two tapes at eitherside of the fold would desirably be used to hold the slabs together forthe following steps in manufacture next to be described. The zone ofapplication of such a tape is not wide and the successivecircumferentially placed slabs are joined only in a zone of restrictedradial extent adjacent the dinner circumference and outwardly thereofare free of each other, or, to put it another way, have open jointssubstantially throughout their depth.

The assembly of Fig. 7, embodying a sufficient number of slabs to form acircuit of the complete wheel, may then be placed as seen in Fig. 8 on asuitable drum 28, having a central groove 30 therein, the bottom of thegroove being substantially of the diameter of the internal circumferencedesired in the completed annulus of buffing material (diameter of center12) and the external diameter of the drum being preferably substantiallygreater than the outer diameter of the completed wheel. The edges of theslabs where joined by the tape 24 are over the groove 30. The centralportion of the assembly is then pressed down into the groove upsettingthe two sets of slabs 20-0 and Ztl-r into radial planes as they aredrawn down into, and closely confined by the sides of, the groove 26.They are thus upset and crumpled circumferentially because theirdeveloped length is much greater than the length of the circumferencesto which the various parts are brought. The lines of sewing 22 aresuliiciently far apart to permit differential movement of the pliesbetween them and effective crumpling. The annuli will be tightlycompacted at the inner periphery and less so as the outer circumferenceis approached where undulations or rufflings are formed which open upsomewhat when the annuli are freed from lateral restraint.

Fig. 9 shows the process completed. The annular mass of buing materialthus formed with its convolutions or compressions may then be removedIfrom the drum and 'assembled in desired manner with a supporting coreor center. In Fig. l the ruftling inthe outwardly extending portion ofthe buff is shown rather diagrammatically by wavy lines. Fig. 2 issomewhat more realistic and shows a chanacteristic crumpling, such asmay appear at the periphery of the buff. It is however only exemplary ofthe general appearance and the disposition of the undulations orcrumplings will vary around the circumference and may not be duplicatedin any other buit, as they occur more or less at haplrazard las theresult of the operations illustrated by Figs. 8 and 9.

The edges of the slabs which abut in Fig. 7 are pressed toward oneanother and may -move over one another slightly or, as illustrated inFig. 2 ian edge may turn back on itself, forming a short fold tandexposing the edge of an adjacent slab of the other annulus as indicated.There is no regularity about this. Subject to such minor irregularitiesthe slabs of the annulus are aligned one behind the other .substantiallyin edge to edge contiguity but with open joints between them. Surpluslength along any circumferential line is absorbed by the rulings of theslab itself rather than by extension of the body of the slab into anadjacent sector.

In the use of the wheel the several slabs have a certain lfreedom ofmovement as the edge of the wheel moves over the work, and theirrelative positions may change somewhat in the course of the work, whidhis a desirable feature. In use the leading edge of a slab may bedeflected back and its leading edge function as such, being supported bythe considenable circumferential length of fabric succeeding it. Scams22 contribute to such support, but do not bind the plies rigidlytogether throughout the slab thickness. The slab does not fold over as anarrow linger might, losing its bias presentation to the work andexposing the woven edge to the work with resultant rapid dilapidation.The slab remains selfJsustaining and independent of the slabs at eitherside of it (except where mounted iat its inner circumference). It is nottied in or joined by extnaneous elements, such as fabric sheets bridgingthe open radial joints between slabs. Although the plies of the annulusare not continuous throughout lthe circumference, the arrangement of theparts with folds at the radial edges of the slabs is such that frayingis minimized. The pockets lformed by the seams 22 and the doubled edges(radial edges) of the Slabs provide radial pockets retaining the buflngcompound.

I am aware that the invention may be embodied in other specific formswithout departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, yandI therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not restrictive, as is in fact clelar inseveral matters ifrom the description itself. Reference is to be had tothe appended claims to indicate those principles of the inventionexemplified by the particular embodiment described and which I desire tosecure by Letters Patent.

I claim:

1. A buiing wheel comprising a center and an annular mass of bufngmaterial firmly secured thereto and comprising a pair of annu-li setside by side and andhored to the center in such side by side position attheir inner perpheries, each annulus consisting of a series of generallyquadrilateral slabs each of which is of bias fabric strip folded up toprovide multiple plies with bias presentation of the threads at theouter periphery and doubled edges adjacent the radial boundaries of theslab, the slabs being disjoined except in a zone of restricted radialextent along the inner circumference where they are anchored to thecenter, the annuli and the slabs therein being free of one anotheroutwardly of such Zone, the slabs having a circumferential dimensionwhich is at least 'a major fraction of their radial dimension, the sumof their developed circumferential dimensions being substantially longerthan their dimension in the Wfheel at least along the innercircumference, the slabs being circumferentially upset and crumpled toaccommodate the excess, and in each annulus being disposed insubstantial edge to edge contiguity with open joints between them.

2. A buing wheel as set forth in claim 1 wherein the individual slabshave their plies joined by several spaced radial seams.

3. A bung wheel as set forth in claim 1 wherein the slabis of therespective annuli are separate elements and loosely articulated lalongthe inner circumference Without substantial increase in bulk at thejoining.

4. A bung wheel comprising a center and an annular mass of bung materialfirmly secured thereto and comprising a pair of annuli set side by sideand anchored to the center in such side by side position `at their innerperipheries, each annulus consisting of a series orf generallyquadrilateral slabs each of which is of bias fabric strip folded up toprovide multiple plies with bias presentation of the threads at theouter periphery and doubled edges adjacent the radial boundaries of theslab, the slabs being disjoined except in a Zone of restricted radialextent along the inner circumference where they are anchored to thecenter, the annuli and the slabs therein being free of one anotheroutwardly of such zone, the slabs having a circumferential dimensionwhich is at least ya major fraction of their radial dimension, the sumof their developed circumferential dimensions being substantially longerthan their dimension in the wheel along both the inner and outercircumferences, the slabs being circumferentially upset and crumpled toaccommodate the excess, and in each annulus being disposed insubstantial edge to edge contiguity with open joints between them.

5. A buiing Wheel ias set 'forth in claim 4 wherein the individual slabshave their plies joined by several spaced radial seams.

References Cited in the Ele of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.23,391 Hall Iuly 17, 1951 2,226,624 MacFarland et al Dec. 31, 19402,450,793 Hall Oct. 5, 1948 2,803,096 Mockjewicz Nov. 30, 1957

